Improving Coastal Assessment and Prediction in Australia: A Due Diligence Study

John Parslow

Arnold Dekker

Coastal assessment & prediction

A National Coastal Assessment and Prediction System?

• Concept proposal developed in response to call by WfO at end of Springboard Theme.

• CSIRO engagement in coastal marine assessment and prediction primarily through scattered short-term case studies.

• Delivery of capability for assessment and prediction to coastal managers is inefficient and controversial e.g. Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening, Tasmanian Pulp Mill, GBR.

• BlueLink provides a model for development and delivery of national infrastructure for ocean assessment and prediction. Can we extend that to the coastal zone?

Coastal assessment & prediction

Due Diligence Study

• Consult with potential research and delivery partners: Bureau of Meteorology, Geosciences Australia, AIMS, DEWHA, …

• Consult with potential end users and clients esp Commonwealth agencies, state agencies, local government, environmental consultants

• Assess science base and feasibility

• Prepare a report and possibly a business case.

Coastal assessment & prediction

Why do we need a Coastal Assessment and Prediction System?

• Catchments, urban / population, industry, climate • Increasing demands for rigorous environmental assessment.• Low community appetite for risk• Hard trade-offs• Simultaneous demands for:

• More accurate prediction and assessment

• Better quantification of uncertainty and risk

• Increased breadth of assessment – ecological, social, economic

• Interactions across uses, scales

• Rapid and cost-effective methods and tools

Coastal assessment & prediction

Sophisticated local science products e.g.

• Sophisticated coupled 3-D hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models.

• Robust coastal ocean colour products

Coastal assessment & prediction

Fragmented jurisdictions drive fragmented science

• Local case studies commissioned and undertaken independently.

• Duplication, reinvention, expensive, time-consuming

• Technical debates over quality and performance of models and assessment lead to costly delays

• Lack of data at regional and national levels to support national and regional policy and management.

Coastal assessment & prediction

BlueLink – harnessing science and technology to deliver a step

change in information quantity and quality

Coastal assessment & prediction

Keys to BlueLink success

• Uses supercomputers to build models which span spatial scales from global to 10 km resolution in Australia’s EEZ;

• Exploits advanced observing technologies, including satellite remote sensing and robotic sensor networks;

• Uses data assimilation to reduce and quantify model forecast error, dynamically interpolate among sparse observation to estimate current and past ocean states, and assess the effectiveness of alternative observing elements and strategies;

• Avoids the uncertainty involved in specifying open boundary conditions in local models, and in fact provides boundary conditions for local models, including custom relocatable models;

• Provides an ideal basis for dynamically downscaling global climate scenarios;

• As a partnership across national research and operational agencies (CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology, Royal Australian Navy), provides an effective model for delivery as well as development.

Coastal assessment & prediction

Data Assimilation: Combining Model and Data

Model Field

Altimeter Argo

SST

Moorings

XBTAnalysis

Coastal assessment & prediction

Impact of Remotely Sensed & In-situ Data on Prediction and Hindcast Errors

Coastal assessment & prediction

OFAM1.00.10.1

ROAM

Downscaling: Climate to Regional to Coastal

2km2km

Every 20th grid point is shown

Coastal assessment & prediction

CAPS Components 1 – A national continental shelf information system

• Data-assimilating continental shelf hydrodynamic, sediment, biogeochemical models, 2 km resolution, nested in BlueLink.

• National remote sensing of continental shelf: SST, coastal altimetry, ocean colour (Chl, CDOM, TSS).

• Shelf in-situ observing system, built from IMOS? • Moorings, gliders, coastal radar.

• Linked national catchment system for flows, loads from major catchments

Coastal assessment & prediction

A national continental shelf model

Coastal assessment & prediction

Region 3: BurdekinMODIS Aqua 26. JAN. 2008

CHL [mg m-3] CDOM [m-1]

NAP [g m-3] Kd [m-1]

RGB

0.1 1.0 10 20

0.1 1.0 10

0.02 0.1 1

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Coastal water quality products could be produced nationally.

Coastal assessment & prediction

IMOS Shelf Observing Facilities and Nodes

• Shelf moorings• Gliders• Coastal Radars• Remote Sensing• Data management and delivery• Regional Nodes

• GBROOS• NSW IMOS• SAIMOS• WAIMOS

Coastal assessment & prediction

CAPS Component 2: Relocatable inshore observing systems

• Relocatable inshore models - hydrodynamics, sediments, biogeochemistry – nested inside shelf model (build on ROAM platform)

• Data assimilation: state and parameter estimation• Observing system design tool: data needed to

achieve specified model performance• Inshore remote sensing• Low cost sensors and sensor networks• Link to relocatable catchment system.

Coastal assessment & prediction

Priority research Needs

• Data assimilation and model-data fusion (new community of practice and CSS Platform)

• Computational science eg exploiting massively parallel computers, GPUs (CSS Platform)

• Novel low cost sensors – Sensors Cluster, SSN Platform

• Novel platforms and networks – SSN Platform, Starbug, …

• Remote Sensing• Testing and extending robust coastal algorithms

• Data assimilation of satellite signal

• Intelligent information systems, visualisation, web delivery

Coastal assessment & prediction

CAPS as an Integrated Catchment – Marine system

• National catchment information system for flows and loads

• Extend WRON to water quality• National vs relocatable• Parallel research priorities

• Data assimilation• Sensor networks• Remote sensing• Information systems

Coastal assessment & prediction

Questions about scope

1. CAPS as presented is about coupled marine hydrodynamic, sediment dynamic and biogeochemical models and observations, but…

2. What about coastal inundation, coastal erosion, wave state? (Climate change impacts and adaptation).

3. Should we stop at water quality, or extend to marine ecosystems?

Coastal assessment & prediction

Way Forward

• CAPS Stream in ORCA• Develop tools and methods through existing projects

and case studies: BlueLink, SE Tas, SEQ, SW WA, SSN, CSS Platforms, Sensors Cluster

• Engagement: • Commonwealth and State agencies• Potential Partners (BoM, GA, AIMS)• SMEs (Consultants, Niche manufacturing)